Shore Capital says 'buy' Prudential despite political obstacles

12th Aug 2014 14:27

Shore Capital has advised investors to pile into Prudential, saying it is well-placed despite currency, regulatory and political headwinds.Prudential said on Tuesday that its businesses in Asia and the US helped the insurer to boost first-half operating profits by 17% to £1.52bn, although it ruled out big acquisitions in Asia.The group's UK retail annuity sales fell 43% following the government's decision to axe rules forcing people to buy annuities with their pension pots.But Shore reiterated its 'buy' recommendation on the Pru with a target price of 1371p.The broker said the half-year results had topped both its own and the market's expectations for profits and net asset value, with a particularly good performance from its US division.Shore analyst Eamonn Flanagan said: "This is a particularly impressive performance given the tough forex and political headwinds that the group has had to contend with in the first half of 2014."The outlook statement reads well, in our view, with underlying optimism wisely tempered by pragmatic references to these headwinds."Shares in the Pru rose 19p or 1.4% to 1358p at 14:02 in London.PW